Pumpkin pie for everyone! This year, Tom and Kelly Matzen with the help of their son Tyler decided to grow pumpkins
in front of their house. They had no idea these gigantic gourds would soon over take their front yard, literally stopping
traffic, “I would look out my window to see tourist stretching their hands through the fence to take photos of our
pumpkin patch.” explains Matzen.
The kids in Deep Bay shared in the fun, with Tyler in the middle proudly showing off his crop to his friends, new
comers Brigitte and Hugo who will be experiencing their first Thanksgiving here on Bowen. Little Melia, content
playing with some freshly picked lavender, is thrilled to be sitting on one of these massive gourds just hanging around
with the big kids. Debra Stringfellow Photo

Tsleil-Waututh Nation looks to Bowen council
for support in opposing pipeline expansion
Meribeth Deen
EDITOR

A

representative from the Tsleil-Wauthuth Nation told Bowen
Island’s Mayor and Council that Kinder Morgan’s Trans
Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project puts the entire Salish
Sea at risk by a increasing the number of tankers carrying raw
bitumen. Carleen A. Thomas is the Intergovernmental Relations
Manager for the Nation’s Sacred Trust Initiative, which is mandated

to oppose the project.
“Tsleil-Waututh means people of the Inlet, and it is
our sacred obligation to protect the land of our people,”
Thomas told council. “In our Grandparent’s generation, we
could sustain ourselves on what we found in the Burrard
Inlet, things like herring and sea urchins, which, because
of industrialization, are no longer available to us.”
Thomas said the Tsleilcontinued, PAGE 6
Waututh are working hard to

Downing a caffeinerich shot of espresso
barely makes Gino
Rutigliano blink.
But when the owner of
the Bowen Island Coffee
Roasting Company was
caught in the middle of
a “robbery gone right”
the night before competing in a Seattle espresso
tournament, the ensuing
adrenaline rush left him
with more than just caffeine shakes.
Rutigliano and his
wife had travelled to
Washington state Oct.
3 after he was selected
to compete at the 2013
America’s Best Espresso
Competition.
They spent the afternoon preparing the
equipment for the
espresso competition
and taking more than a
few sips of the caffeinated brew.
Afterwards, Rutigliano
recalled popping over
to a corner store to pick
up groceries and some
wine, when a man allegedly tried to make off
with some goods.
One of the store workers would have none of
it, according to coffee
maestro, and the accused
shoplifter was hit by a
blast of electricity.
“I don’t know if

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you’ve ever heard a Taser
gun live, but these things
are loud,” Rutigliano
said.
“You could see the
blue, 50,000(-watt)
bolts. It was really, really
freaky.”
The couple was ushered into the back of the
store, while the worker
carrying the Taser
blocked the entrance
until police showed up.
The coffee brewmaster
said he eventually left
the scene once authorities arrived, but “at
that point, we were still
frazzled.”
And it didn’t help
that he had to defend
his thrid-place title at
the 2013 America’s Best
Espresso Competition
while his body was still
buzzing from all the caffeine and excitement.
“It was like 2:30 in the
morning and I looked
at my wife and we were
both looking at the
Space Needle, going, ‘I
can’t sleep,’” Rutigliano
said with a chuckle.
Sleep deprived and
physically drained, he
showed up a few hours
later at the espresso
showdown only to discover the computer programming that dictated
the temperatures, speed
and taste infusions for

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The Caring Circle Advisory
Committee is happy to announce that
the Driver Initiative Program will be
phased in over the next few weeks. In
late spring, Barry Adams enthusiastically approached Colleen O’Neil, our
volunteer navigator/coordinator, with
the idea of starting a driving support
team to help people on island who have
no reliable means of getting to medical appointments (laboratory, physician,
tests or procedures) both on Bowen and
the Mainland.
Sixteen people have volunteered to
be part of this driver team. Mary Ellen
deGrace, John Morrison and Diane
Marshall have formed a ‘Volunteer
Support Team’ for this program. They
have developed a Volunteer Driver
Manual of guidelines for the drivers. All
drivers must complete a criminal record
check, submit a Driver’s Abstract from
ICBC and have attended a driver orientation.
In order to request a ride from one
of our volunteer drivers please go to
caringcircle.ca and click on the “Ride
Needed” icon. You will be provided
with our dispatcher’s contact information. Please email the dispatcher with
your request.
If you do not have access to a computer phone the Caring Circle (604
947-9100). For first requests, the dispatcher or a volunteer at Caring Circle

will fill-out an intake form.
The dispatcher will endeavour to
match your request for a Caring Circle
driver. As soon as the driver is engaged,
you will be informed. If, in a few days, a
driver cannot be found, our dispatcher
will contact you to let you know that
your request cannot be filled.
Please note that you should try to
reserve a ride as soon as you have an
appointment date so that there is enough
time to make the necessary arrangements. One possibility for finding a ride
might be found by registering with the
newly formed transportation support
group at www.facebook.com/groups/
bowenislandrideshare.
Brochures with detail about this program will be available at the Caring
Circle, your doctor’s office, and Cates
Pharmacy.
If you are going to a specialist appointment or to have a hospital procedure, it
is advisable that you obtain and fill out a
T.A.P. form which will exempt you and
your driver from having to pay a fare
for the ferry. The T.A.P. form is available
from your family physician at time of
referral. Lion’s Gate Hospital and the BC
Cancer Agency also have the forms at
their admissions desk.
Our hope is that people will find our
program easy to use and that it will
allow people to more comfortably seek
necessary health care. If you have no
other way of getting to medically related appointments, we invite you to participate in this exciting pilot project.

Le Bel’s new book inspires
us to live a larger life
DONALEEN SAUL
SPECIAL TO THE
UNDERCURRENT

any of us see the Earth as a
planet, but few of us regard her
as a living, evolving being with
whom we can have a rich and
rewarding relationship.
In her newly released book,
Becoming Intimate with the
Earth, published by Collins
Foundation Press, Pauline Le
Bel invites us to think again,
to feel again, and to tell a different story than the dominant
one that has viewed Earth as a
machine whose resources are
to be exploited and shaped for
the greater glory of human consumption.
The story that she shares with
us in a multitude of ways and
forms in these pages is simple:
“Earth is alive and we are part of
her life.”
Simple, perhaps, but with
monumental implications.
“We are on an evolutionary
path, like any other species…
Being anthropocentric—focusing on human needs—has been
essential to the survival of our
species,” she writes.
“Until now. It has become
more and more painfully clear
that a focus on meeting human
wants rather than needs endangers the life of our planetary
home.”
In recounting the danger, Le
Bel doesn’t hold back her own
heartbreak at the costs of our
destructive path.
“I…weep at the devastation
we as a society have afflicted
upon the Earth, rage against
the exploding of mountaintops,
the poisoning of our waters, the
fracking of the land, the killing of innocent people, animals,
and plants with atomic bombs,

nuclear waste, and toxic chemicals.”
And yet, while not shying
away from the darkness, this is
no “gloom and doom” book. If
there’s one quality that it arouses
in the reader, it’s wonder.
“If you look up, way up, into
the giant trees of the Pacific
Northwest, you will notice the
canopy stretching out above
your head and see the threedimensional geometry of twigs
and foliage and space.”
Becoming Intimate with the
Earth is laced with such lyrical
passages. While it is thoroughly
researched and has intellectual
rigour, it is also an enjoyable
and artistically enriching read.
Her imagistic poems lure us
into each chapter, her personal
stories offer an intimate glimpse
into her own journey, and her
invocation of wise words from
the Earth’s bravest and most
prophetic scientists,
economists, mystics,
and leaders inspires us
to live a bigger life.
That is Le Bel’s core
message.
“Much of popular
culture, in its toxic consumer bubble, offers us
a self-centered you-canhave-all-the-stuff-youwant kind of dream…
True culture must
include the land, the
soil, the oceans, lakes,
the plants and animals,
because without their
culture, there is no
human culture.”
She also makes it
clear that embracing a
vaster culture doesn’t
mean becoming an
environmentalist or any
other kind of “expert.”

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She doesn’t conceal her own,
sometimes uncertain, efforts to
walk her talk. Throughout the
book, she suggests numerous
“Intimacy Practices” to support
our own efforts.
She also shares the voices
of Bowen Islanders, “regular
folks who care about the Earth,
who tell new stories with their
lives, who use their talent and
their passion to make a difference…They range in age from
five to 82; and they live in my
neighbourhood. They are my
Local Heroes. They inspire me.
Perhaps they will also inspire
you.”
There is little doubt that they
will, as will this soul-stirring
marvel of a book. Discover
more and enjoy some music
and refreshments at Becoming
Intimate with the Earth’s launch
at The Left Bank on Sunday,
Oct. 27, 1:30- to 3:30 p.m.

Although he originally studied judo and karate as an adolescent, that was all
before he met Park, his future wife, when he was 18.
She had been studying taekwondo since she was a child growing up in South
Korea, where the art was taught at the elementary school she attended.
After moving to Canada as a teen, Park â&#x20AC;&#x201D; now a fourth-degree black belt
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; inspired Strachan to take up taekwondo and the couple has been studying
everything from Brazilian jiujitsu to yoga since then.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was nice to see some of the previous adult (Bowen) students showing
their traditional side of martial arts â&#x20AC;&#x201D; etiquette,â&#x20AC;? Strachan said.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;The benefit of martial arts is in long term commitment (and) practising the
tenants of TKD â&#x20AC;&#x201D; courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self control and indomitable spirit. It takes time to build such reference in the mind and body through
physical and mental discipline.â&#x20AC;?
And parents such as Ronczewski couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be more delighted with the programming.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is absolutely fantastic,â&#x20AC;? he said.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seen anything of that calibre on Bowen Island for the last three
and a half years.â&#x20AC;?
Classes take place Mondays and Wednesday at Artisan Square. Those interested in taking up taekwondo can call Strachan or Park at 604-892-3710 or
visit squamishmartialarts.com.

CONTRIBUTOR

When Gregory Ronczewski attempted to sign up his son for taekwondo classes on Bowen Island four years ago, his name was instantly placed on a twomonth-long waiting list.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;There was no room, too many students, it was so popular,â&#x20AC;? he recalled.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;When finally there was a spot for Alex, the school was just taken over by
Master Riu, a young and full-of-energy taekwondo master from (South) Korea.â&#x20AC;?
But after Riu returned to his home country to attend to family business, the
local martial arts studio fell into a rotating cycle of taekwondo masters. None
of them stuck, for various reasons.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are so sad such a wonderful gym is just sitting there,â&#x20AC;? Ronczewski said.
Enter Scot Strachan and Michelle Park.
The pair, who have been training martial arts to youths for more than 20
years in Squamish, B.C., began hopping on the ferry in September to offer
classes to Bowen Island residents at the old taekwondo facility at Artisan
Square.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our first impression of Bowen Island TKD (taekwondo) students was positive. We felt that there were much excitement to have TKD back in the community,â&#x20AC;? said Strachan, a sixth-degree black belt master in taekwondo.

or those of you that know me, and those of you that don’t, I feel I need to
take the time to introduce and re-introduce myself from this new post.
This week, I took the helm of this paper, and I will be the first to admit,
the role snuck up on me somewhat.
Last week I was “Ma-ma,” although my son rarely says so because he doesn’t
seem to realize that I am separate from him, not yet. I was “D,” which is a nickname for “step-mom,” and I was juggling creative projects including sewing,
writing and producing radio.
As great as it is to be all of that (and yes, it’s even pretty great being a stepmom most of the time) it is very nice to have this title, and to sink into the task
of making this newspaper happen every week. I’ve had great experiences working as a reporter in small communities, I have no doubt many more lie ahead.
My first job out of journalism school was as a reporter for CBC radio in Saint
John, New Brunswick. My summer was fog-bound, but there was always an
interesting story around the corner. Plans to build a liquid natural gas terminal
in town brought hundreds of very vocal citizens out to a public meeting, as did
plans to build a Walmart.
Bowen is idyllic compared to Saint John. There are no smokestacks here,

the sun shines plenty in summer, and it’s beautiful even when it rains. But passions run equally high. My first day on the job at The Undercurrent, covering a
three-hour council meeting in which no major decisions were made was a case
in point. The Mayor threatened to sue the Phorum for libel, then proceeded to
tell a member of the public to “shut up,” during her presentation. Twice.
As the Phorum tells it, and as we all know, a moment like this brings out
stark contrasts in perspectives: there are plenty of people on Bowen island who
think the mayor was way out of line on both of these points; and others who
cheer him on and defend his character.
I won’t tell you that I am entirely objective on all stories, I’m not sure that’s
possible for any human being. However, I will say that my opinion in all this
doesn’t matter much. It’s my job to tell the story of this place as it unfolds week
to week, the best I can, in a way that is fair and thoughtful. I’m up for the job,
and I’m also planning to enjoy it.
As I said in my interview: I didn’t just move here because it’s pretty. Bowen’s
full of interesting people and interesting stories. It’s a great community with a
lot to offer, and as the editor of The Undercurrent, I will do my best to put out a
paper worthy of i t .
Meribeth Deen, Editor

Proof of a healthy democracy

The Write Stuff.
The Undercurrent encourages
reader participation in your
community newspaper. You
must include your full name
and a daytime phone number
(for verification only). The
editor reserves the right to edit
for clarity, legality, brevity and
taste.

Dear Editor,

Here’s how.
To submit a letter to the editor,
fax 604-947-0148 or mail it to
#102, 495 Government Rd.,
PO Box 130, Bowen Island,
BC V0N 1G0 or email editor@
bowenislandundercurrent.com.
B.C. Press Council.
The Undercurrent is a member
of the British Columbia Press
Council, a self-regulatory
body governing the province’s
newspaper industry. The council
considers complaints from the
public about the conduct of
member newspapers. Directors
oversee the mediation of
complaints, with input from
both the newspaper and the
complaint holder. If talking with
the editor or publisher does not
resolve your complaint about
coverage or story treatment,
you may contact the B.C. Press
Council. Your written concern,
with documentation, should be
sent to B.C. Press Council, 201
Selby St., Nanaimo, B.C. V9R
2R2. For information, phone
1-888-687-2213 or go to
www.bcpresscouncil.org.

Behaviour of Mayor and Council
Dear Editor,
Council’s lack of response to the Mayor’s emotional outburst during the Oct 14th meeting
was unacceptable. I accept that. We must do better as Councillors who have been elected to
represent our Community and be counted, when decorum and unconditional respect of its citizens has been breached. I offer my apology to Ms. Harrison for the way she was treated at our
Council meeting. I will do my best to ensure this does not happen again.
Andrew Stone, Councillor

The Undercurrent is published every
Friday by Black Press Group Ltd. All
Advertising and news copy content
are copyright of the Undercurrent
Newspaper. All editorial content
submitted to the Undercurrent
becomes the property of the
publication.
The undercurrent is not responsible
for unsolicited manuscripts, art work
and photographs. We acknowledge
the financial support of the
Government of Canada through the
Canada Periodical
Fund (CPF) for our
publishing activities.

The visit of Fisheries Minister Gail Shea to the North Shore
last Tuesday reflected two key elements of a healthy democracy – engaged citizens and a responsive government. The visit
was beneficial, for it provided a forum to discuss issues that
had been put into writing by John Fraser and Dave Brown in
their recent letter to the editor.
Fraser and Brown have demonstrated an exemplary passion
for the protection and enhancement of a sustainable fishery.
Articulate and well-versed on fisheries issues, they and other
volunteers have, in response to my invitation, assembled on a
regular basis over the last four years in what we have come to
know as the Sea to Sky Fisheries Roundtable. This group of 15
or more activists, including members from Bowen Island, has
consistently stepped up to provide guidance for me as your
MP to bring to our Government. The Roundtable has helped
me effect a solid record of measurable results in the fisheries; results that occurred through their efforts and because we
have a government that listens and responds.
I am proud of Minister Shea for meeting with the
Roundtable so soon after Fraser and Brown published their
constructively critical letter. The Minister received deserved
praise for implementing items we in the riding have supported
through consistent dialogue with her – notably, she has been
here three times. The achievements are many and include:
the Closed Containment Salmon Aquaculture study performed by the Fisheries Committee; the creation of the new
Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnerships Program in
Budget 2013, under which the Roundtable and the Squamish
River Watershed Society just received funding for groundbreaking projects; and the transfer of all funds collected by
the Pacific Salmon Conservation Stamp to the Pacific Salmon
Foundation, also a Budget 2013 initiative. The Roundtable
also had the opportunity to raise several issues with her, and
given her track record in responding to local constituents, I
have no doubt that she took seriously the requests that were
put before her.
More importantly, we saw once again the playing out of
an important step in the cycle of a healthy democracy – the
interaction between an engaged citizenry and a responsive
government.
John Weston, M.P. (West Vancouver – Sunshine Coast – Sea to Sky
Country)

Plenty of good reasons
to reject smart meters
Dear Editor,
The letter from in the Sept. 27 edition and a
similar view expressed by Tom Fletcher in the online version of the Undercurrent might be reasonable if health effects (regrettably based on outdated
science) were the only objection to “smart” meters.
It is disingenuous to quote radiation levels as a
percentage of an outdated “safety” standard when
there is plenty of peer-reviewed science to show
effects on cell wall transport and metabolism at
levels far below any heating effect.
Privacy: The “smart” grid gathers usage data
from individual dwellings for sale to appliance
manufacturers. This detailed surveillance is an
unnecessary, intrusive invasion of subscribers’ privacy, revealing their activities, absences, etc. I did
not consent to have a surveillance device attached
to my house as a condition for electricity supply.
Vulnerabilities: The “smart” grid itself is vulnerable to natural events and hostile attack, as
James Woolsey (once director of the CIA) reports.
Encrypted electricity subscriber usage databases
may be hacked, as shown by recent cyber attacks

against commerce and government.
Cost: “Smart” meters are 10 times the cost of
analogue meters, and their service life is much
shorter. Apart from the initial investment of over
$1 billion, there are recurring replacement costs
forever. A fifteen year average service life (versus
45 years for an analogue meter) means $1.2 billion
every 15 years (no doubt spread out).This cost will
be added to the charge for electricity service, whilst
also collecting money from the sale of subscriber
data to corporate clients. The meter reading cost
savings appear to be more revenue. Consumers
opting to keep their analogue meters will pay an
additional monthly $35 fee -- paying twice for the
same service. Consumers could provide monthly
meter readings with audit checks once a year; other
jurisdictions offer a much smaller or no fee. Then
there’s the cost of house fires caused by “smart”
meters; plus the effective increase in tariff due to
the forthcoming time-of-use billing. Touted asa
peak reduction initiative, this is really just another
tariff increase.
David Hill, Bowen Island

‘Social justice’ as
student indoctrination
TOM FLETCHER
BLACK PRESS

A

s the B.C. Teachers’ Federation executive moseys back to the bargaining
table after a summer off, I’m reminded
of former education minister George Abbott’s
thoughts on his time trying to establish a civil
discussion with the province’s most militant
union.
It started with a lecture.
“In my first meeting with the BCTF, and I
gather this is characteristic of all first meetings
with education ministers, the TF advises that
yes, they are a union, but first and foremost
they are social activists and agents of social
change,” Abbott recalled.
Their buzzword is “social justice,” which is
portrayed by leftists as superior to plain old justice, in ways that are seldom defined. So what
exactly are the goals of this “social change”?
Here’s some of what I’ve gleaned.
Parents may recall the 2008 introduction of
an elective high school course called Social
Justice 12. This was mainly the result of intense
protest by a couple of gay activist teachers, and
the ministry curriculum describes its emphasis
on inclusion of racial, cultural and sexual differences.
That’s all good, and it’s now bolstered by
urgently needed anti-bullying and empathy
efforts at all grades.
Then there is the BCTF version. It’s not just a
battle against “racism, homophobia and sexism”
but also “poverty and globalization.”
The BCTF has a quarterly “Social Justice
Newsletter” filled with predictable economic
assumptions. Readers of the latest issue are
reminded at length that the United Nations
takes a dim view of Canada’s record on human
rights, including a right to housing. Undefined
“poverty” statistics are cited, although Statistics
Canada has nothing but incomplete relative
measures.
One article describes a social justice club
for Grade 2 and 3 students, with activities that
include collecting food bank donations and
“writing to the premier asking for a systemic
plan to address child poverty.”

Leaving aside whether eight-year-olds can
understand what “systemic” means, this rhetoric is taken directly from the tired old NDP
policy book. It rests on the cherished myth that
poverty is imposed by right-wing governments
that refuse to double the minimum wage and
pile more taxes on “the rich.”
And what about that darned “globalization”?
The BCTF still has a 2001 teaching guide on
its website promoting the claim that Nike is
uniquely guilty of making shoes and exercise
gear in Third World sweatshops.
Teachers are to instruct students how to organize a boycott of Nike, thus passing the received
wisdom of campus radicalism to the next generation.
This was all debunked years ago. Are Adidas,
Reebok, Apple and Microsoft any different?
Has nothing changed in 12 years? A quick web
search will show this is a stale old tale with a
convenient villain, to avoid complex questions.
A BCTF official assures me this unit is
being updated. Once that one is done, maybe
they could check over their teaching unit on
Enbridge’s Northern Gateway proposal, another
labour of the union’s “social justice” truth team.
Entitled “What We Stand To Lose With
Pipelines and Supertankers,” it boasts wildlife photos and “key sources” from the left
(Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) to the
far-left fringe (Pipe Up Network). It is another
protesters’ guide designed around a pre-determined viewpoint.
BCTF bosses love to talk about the importance of “critical thinking.” These one-sided
caricatures of Nike, Enbridge and other familiar
villains seem designed to produce the opposite.
They remind me of George Orwell’s classic novel 1984 where loyal party members are
required to focus on selected enemies in a daily
ritual called the Two Minutes Hate.
Perhaps this is a clue to why our school system produces so many students lacking in
employment skills and bursting with demands
for government-imposed wealth redistribution.
Tom Fletcher is legislature reporter and columnist
for Black Press. Twitter: @tomfletcherbc

Local group offers
workshop in building a
stronger community
The Power of Just Doing Stuff.
That’s the title of Rob Hopkin’s
latest book (available at our local
library).
Hopkin is the founder of the global Transition Movement, which
is a community level approach
to issues around climate change,
resource scarcity and economic
turmoil. Bowen in Transition has
been following Hopkin’s example,
acting now to mitigate impacts
and adapt to the realities of a
changing biosphere, economic
pressures and other challenges.
Bowen in Transition is inviting
islanders to join this broad-based
organization and are pleased to
announce a transition training
workshop, Building Community
Resilience on Sunday, Oct. 20.
Participants in the full-day free
program will be invited to cocreate a vision and action plan
aimed at increasing the island’s
economic diversity, health and
sustainability. The training
includes an overview on the
Transition Movement and why it
is relevant to Bowen Island plus
interactive exercises and games
to stimulate discussion and devel-

op strategies that will create a
more vibrant, self-sufficient, sharing and connected community.
Over the past three years,
Bowen in Transition has organized three sustainability tours,
held canning workshops, organized the group purchase of
fruit trees and presented two
documentary film series. It is
currently exploring options for
community currency, offering a
talk and workshop with Carolyn
Baker in November, developing a
green guide, and will be presenting various other workshops in
the new year.
Members of Bowen in
Transition are diverse in backgrounds and interests, including
waste, local food, green building, energy, permaculture design,
recycling, transportation, wellness and local livelihoods.
For more information, please
visit www.bowenintransition.com.
To register for the training workshop, contact Shasta Martinuk
at shastamartinuk@gmail.com
or 604.947.2283. Space is limited
so please register as soon as possible.

Smart meter holdout fees
get interim approval
Opponents of wireless smart
meters are vowing to continue their fight against BC
Hydro after the B.C. Utilities
Commission granted interim
approval of extra fees that will be
charged to holdouts.
Regulators have set out a
three-month process to consider
the grounds for the fees, which
the province has mandated by
cabinet order to recoup millions
of dollars in extra costs to accommodate customers who opt not to
have a wireless meter.
The utilities commission can’t
scrap the fees, but it could decide
they’re too high and order Hydro
to lower them and refund the difference.
Sharon Noble of the Coalition

to Stop Smart Meters said opponents have registered for intervenor status and will urge the commission to delay implementation
of the fees while a class action
lawsuit against Hydro is before
the courts.
“They want to get the fees in
place so people feel the pinch as
soon as possible and stop resisting,” Noble said, calling it a strategy to break the planned legal
challenge.
She said it’s “unconscionable”
for the fees to go ahead before
opponents get their day in court.
“This is just one more way of
intimidating people,” Noble said.
“I’m getting 300 emails a day
from people who are furious and
can’t afford this.”

whether Metro
Vancouver can ban
the export of garbage
beyond its boundaries,
putting what some say
is an unfair limit on
business.
A proposed waste
flow bylaw that’s been
fought by garbage haulers was approved by
the Metro board Oct.
11, sending it to the

provincial environment
ministry for approval.
The bylaw would ban
shipments to unapproved out-of-region
destinations, such as an
Abbotsford transfer station that in turn sends
it to a U.S. landfill.
Some haulers pay
an estimated $70 per
tonne to dump there,
rather than $107 per

tonne charged by Metro
Vancouver at in-region
transfer stations, and
they don’t face Metroimposed bans on
dumping various recyclables.
Their ability to
undercut other haulers that pay full Metro
tipping fees and abide
by the bans are resulting in a growing flow of
garbage east that Metro
directors say must be
stopped so the regional
district isn’t bled of
critical revenue.
“Waste is leaving the
system and that means
we’re not achieving our
environmental goals,
our diversion goals
and we’re losing revenue to support Metro
Vancouver programs,”
said Richmond Mayor
Malcolm Brodie, who
chairs Metro’s zero
waste committee.
Some business
groups have denounced
the bylaw as one that
will force customers to
pay more than necessary.
Their objections
have been amplified by paid lobbyists
– including former BC
Liberal MLA John Les
(Chilliwack), who represents the Cache Creek
landfill operators – as
well as some Metro
directors.
“I don’t think Metro
Vancouver should be
creating a monopoly
on something like garbage,” West Vancouver
Mayor Michael Smith
said, arguing the region
shouldn’t frustrate free
enterprise or business
creativity in finding

Black Press file photo
Garbage that’s dumped at the Vancouver landfill in Delta – or any Metro Vancouver
transfer station – is subject to the region’s $107 per tonne tipping fee.

new waste solutions.
“Metro Vancouver
continues on a crash
course to raise costs
for residents and businesses alike,” Grant
Hankins, district manager for hauling firm
BFI Canada, told the
committee Oct. 3.
“You’re picking winners
and losers.”
An earlier version of
the bylaw was defeated
in September but it was
quickly retooled and
revived.
One change would
allow cities to exempt
specific apartment
buildings from the
requirement coming
in 2015 to separate all
organic food waste.
Garbage from those
buildings would have
to go to an approved
material recovery facility (MRF) where organics and other recycla-

workouttoconquercancer.ca
M E D I A PA R T N E R S :

have flourished under
Metro’s source separation policies, which
would be undermined
without the imposition
of flow control rules.
“If all this material
was being exported or
if all this material was
being owned by haulers
who have transfer stations we would never
have access to this
material,” said Nicole
Stefenelli of the Recycle
First Coalition.
The Cache Creek
landfill would continue to be an approved
regional facility under
the new rules, at least
until Metro opens a
new waste-to-energy
plant and stops using
the Interior dump.
Some incineration
opponents hope that
plan fails and Metro is
forced to keep trucking
waste to Cache Creek.

Conquering cancer isn’t easy, but that doesn’t mean
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at Richmond Olympic Oval for the most meaningful
workout of your life. It’s a full day of upbeat workouts
for people of all fitness levels. You’ll have a blast, get lots
of great exercise, and be inspired by people like you who
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bles would be extracted
from waste.
The bylaw creates
some room for mixedwaste MRFs, which
proponents say could
pull out much more
recyclable material
that’s now dumped or
incinerated, helping lift
the poor 15 per cent
recycling rate in multifamily buildings.
Exempting select
older apartment buildings from the organics
ban will also solve a
major problem for cities, which weren’t sure
how it could be implemented in some cases.
Metro has been
accused of trying to
pen up garbage in the
region to feed a future
new garbage incinerator.
But the bylaw is also
backed by recycling
businesses that say they

protect what sea-life that still exists in Howe Sound
for future generations.
“And we should keep that bitumen in the ground,
because someday it will be oil. Our great, great
grandchildren might need it.”
Thomas has travelled along the pipeline to meet
with other First Nations and municipalities to discuss
the Tsleil-Waututh concerns.
“We [First Nations] are connected by the water,
by the rivers, and by the salmon. I’m sure that other
British Columbians can appreciate this connection
as well.”
If the Trans Mountain Pipeline is expanded, it will
carry nearly 900 thousand barrels of raw bitumen
from Alberta to the Westridge Terminal in Burnaby.
Tanker traffic through the Burrard Inlet will increase
from 5 tankers per month to 34.
Thomas pointed to a history of poor results in
cleaning up bitumen spills as opposed to oil spills as
a particular risk.

“When it [bitumen] hits the water, it balls up and
sticks to the bottom. A 15 percent recovery of a bitumen spill is considered a successful clean up. This is
unacceptable.”
Thomas said he wanted to share this information
in the hopes that the Bowen council might actively
oppose the expansion of the pipeline. The Sacred
Trust Initiative has found strong allies in the mayors
and councils of Vancouver and Burnaby. In 2012,
the Union of BC Municipalities passed a resolution
against any expansion of oil tanker traffic on the
West Coast.
Councillor Wolfgang Duntz told Thomas that
Bowen Island is a part of the Islands Trust which
stands very strongly against the expansion of the
pipeline.
“I think a majority of Bowen Islanders would agree
with us, and with you,” said Duntz. “Maybe the time
has come for us to have that debate on council.”
Thomas says she would be happy to return to
Bowen to present the research of the Sacred Trust
Initiative to any concerned citizens on Bowen
Island.

his coffee machine had been lost.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;So we had 15 minutes to try and reprogram and recreate what took us an hour and a half the day before,â&#x20AC;?
he said, adding he knew his espresso shot wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t going to be the best representation of his craft.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Basically I ran out of time.â&#x20AC;?
But Rutigliano said the chance to rub shoulders with all his coffee peers made for a fantastic weekend.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an international competition, so just being selected is a huge honour â&#x20AC;&#x201D; placing is an even bigger honour,â&#x20AC;? he said.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;I know for next year to be less lackadaisical and make sure that I get there early, make sure I get good
sleep, make sure I stay away from robberies.â&#x20AC;?

Gino Rutigliano with last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prize... and a tasty cup of espresso.
Tyler Orton photo

LYN WATSON

(
Representing you on both Bowen and the North Shore.

Your â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;on Islandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Prudential Realtor

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dining room. 2 levels of family living. Fully fenced garden front
and back. Large deck to enjoy this sunny location. Gorgeous
ocean views with a different sunset each night! Large deck.
BONUS** Membership to Tunstall Bay Club with pool, clubhouse, and
tennis court available. Call Lyn 604-765-7983 or 604-947-9214

The coastal waters of British Columbia are home to the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only Glass Sponge Reefs.
CPAWS Photo

Members of the Glass Sponge observation team in their submarine
CPAWS Photo

Deep water exploration in Howe Sound
Meribeth Deen
Editor

T

his week, a team of scientists, joined by a Juno
Award winner, a politician, a journalist and
others, ventured beneath the waves of Howe
Sound to examine local Glass Sponge Reefs. Until
these reefs were discovered in the Hecate Straight in
1987, scientists believed the Reefs to be long extinct.
World-renowned paleobiologist Dr. Manfred
Krautter described the discovery of these sponges to
be, â&#x20AC;&#x153;like finding a herd of dinosaurs on land.â&#x20AC;?

Scientists found more of these reefs in Howe
Sound in 2001.
According to Sally Leyes, one of the marine biologists on the expedition, glass sponges feed on bacteria, and a single reef can filter the equivalent of one
Olympic swimming pool of water every 40 seconds.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about four times faster than any other filter
feeder studied to date.â&#x20AC;?
Glass sponges are vulnerable to damage from
activities like bottom fishing and dredging, so far
though, there are no measures in place to protect the
reefs.

Crippen Regional Park
Davies Orchard Cottages
Request for Expressions of Interest
Metro Vancouver invites submissions of Expressions of
Interest for the upgrading of existing cottages and the
on-going operation of the Park’s two-acre Orchard Area
located in the Snug Cove Village, Bowen Island Municipality.
There are ten (10) cottages in the Orchard Area of the Park;
two cottages are fully upgraded and are operated under
contract as short-term rental accommodation. In addition,
two cottages are close to fully upgraded and are seasonally
operated as a Museum cottage and an office/visitor
information centre by BI Heritage Preservation Association.
The Orchard Cottages were once part of the Union Steamship Estates on Bowen Island. The Orchard Area currently
includes public space, potable water, sewer, phone, hydro
and cable. Cottage uses will be consistent with park policy
& municipal zoning, including short-term rental accommodation and civic, community or arts & crafts uses.
Respondents to the request for Expressions of Interest will
be encouraged to consider the skill-sets and experience
required for the varied components of this undertaking,
including planning, construction, operations, maintenance
and financing. Further, respondents will be asked to
consider the form of financing envisioned and the form of
agreement required with Metro Vancouver. Finally, respondents will be asked to consider the contribution that could
be made to Bowen Island and Metro Vancouver.
More information is available on the Metro Vancouver
website at www.metrovancouver.org
Enquiries should be directed to
Linda.Borden@metrovancouver.org

Pot reformers fell short of their sign-up target
for the first third of their campaign to force a
provincial referendum on marijuana enforcement.
Sensible BC spokesman Dana Larsen said
the campaign had 65,000 signatures as of Oct.
9 – 15,000 less than their aim of 80,000 by the
30-day mark of the 90-day petition drive.
“We’re a little bit behind the target we set,”
Larsen said, adding getting canvassers officially
registered has proven more onerous than expected.
But he remains confident the campaign can
succeed in getting the signatures of 10 per cent of
eligible voters in every B.C. district.
That would take 300,000 signatures in total, but
Larsen said the aim is for 450,000 or 15 per cent in
each riding to provide a buffer against signatures that
are declared invalid.
The campaign aims to pass legislation that would
bar police from spending any time or resources
enforcing the federal law against possessing small
amounts of marijuana.
Its goal is to use that as a starting point to work
towards broader legalization.
Defeat in any single district means the petition
campaign fails.
And even if it succeeds, a referendum is not automatic – the Legislature could introduce the proposed

Sensible Policing Act but not put it to a vote.
If it was sent to another referendum it could be
non-binding – the HST referendum after a successful Fight HST petition was binding only because
Premier Gordon Campbell declared it so.
Fight HST also had many more signatures at their
30-day mark – more than 300,000 – and eventually
got 705,000.
“They got a lot more than they actually needed,”
Larsen said. “They could have done it with less.”
Larsen said canvassers have already got nearly
enough signatures in Vancouver districts like the
West End and along False Creek.
Most Interior and Northern districts are also doing
well, with about a third of the signatures gathered,
and campaigns are running ahead of schedule in
Nelson, Kelowna and Kamloops.
Suburban ridings in Metro Vancouver, including
Surrey and Coquitlam, have proven more challenging.
“Surrey is a bit of an issue. It’s a lot of districts in
one city and a lot of people that we need.”
Canvassers from Vancouver will be sent to those
areas as Vancouver ridings wrap up, Larsen said.
So far, Sensible BC has 3,000 canvassers registered,
up from 1,600 when they launched.
Larsen expects the canvasser count will grow to
4,000 by the early December deadline, but that would
be well short of Fight HST’s 6,500 canvassers.
Petition locations are on the Sensible BC website at
sensiblebc.ca.

WWW.BOWENISLANDUNDERCURRENT.COM

FRIDAY OCTOBER 18 2013 • 9

On the calendar
SATURDAY, OCT.
19
•BowFEAST
community farmers’
market: 9 a.m. to
noon at Bowen Island
Community School.
The LAST community
market this year!
•Monsters University
screening: 3:30 to
5:30 p.m. at Cates
Hill Chapel. $6 tickets
available at Phoenix
and Island Pacific
School.
•Fall Cleanup:
Bowen Waste Service
will provide large

containers for a free
residential cleanup day on Saturday,
October 19th from
9:00 am to 5:00 pm
in front of the Bowen
Island Recycling
Depot on Mount
Gardner Road. They
will accept household
items, appliances and
other items considered
too large for weekly
garbage pick-up.
Please note: mattresses
will be accepted, but to
a maximum of 2 (two)
per vehicle.
•Out of the Attic
exhibit, Saturday and
Sunday at the Gallery
@Artisan Square.

Spiritual seminar
focused on finding a
God’s balance in life
and work.
•Legion Halloween
Party: Saturday, Oct.
26. Doors open at 7:30
p.m. Advance tickets
available for $15.
•Becoming Intimate
with the Earth:
Sunday, Oct. 27, 1:30
to 3:30 p.m. at The
Leftbank Bistro. Book

launch with author
Pauline Le Bel.
•Kid and Kaboodle
Sale: Nov. 2, 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m. at Bowen
Island Montessori.
$5 early bird 9 to 10
a.m., $5 stuff a bag 1
to 2 p.m. All proceeds
support the school.
Donations of clean and
gently used kids and
maternity items also
being accepted.

Bowen in Transition (BIT) invites you to join us for a one-day workshop in

Building Community
Resilience
Sunday, Oct 20, 2013
10 am - 4 pm

BIT invites you to join the conversation and explore how islanders can build
community resilience in the face of looming global challenges such as
climate change, resource scarcity and economic turmoil.
Register by contacting Shasta Martinuk
shastamartinuk@gmail.com or 604.947.2283.
Space is limited so please register as soon as possible.

It is agreed by any Display or
Classified Advertiser requesting
space that the liability of the paper
in the event of failure to publish an
advertisement shall be limited to the
amount paid by the advertiser for
that portion of the advertising space
occupied by the incorrect item only,
and that there shall be no liability in
any event beyond the amount paid for
such advertisement. The publisher
shall not be liable for slight changes
for typographical errors that do not
lessen the value of an advertisement.

Advertisers are reminded that
Provincial legislation forbids the
publication of any advertisement
which discriminates against any
person because of race, religion, sex,
color, nationality, ancestry or place of
origin, or age, unless the condition is
justified by a bona fide requirement
for the work involved.

_____________
Advertise across the
Lower Mainland in
the 18 best-read
community
newspapers
and 2 dailies.
ON THE WEB:

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rental.

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WWW.BOWENISLANDUNDERCURRENT.COM

Friday October 18 2013 11

Thank you, to everyone who made
this year’s Applefest a huge success!
BOWEN HERITAGE BOARD
SUBMISSION

For the second year in a row, Applefest raised over $1,500 to support our heritage preservation efforts. We couldn’t have wished for a more glorious weekend. We had a lot of fun and
hope you did, too.
New this year at Applefest was an outdoor concert and a heritage tea. The duo ‘Once Again’
– Lorraine Ashdown and Earl Jenkins – performed in Davies Heritage Orchard and entertained
visitors and Islanders alike. The remarkable Rebecca Henderson organized a heritage tea (with
pie) in Cottage 20, ably assisted by Pernille Nielsen and with tables and chairs provided by Chef
Becky of The Left Bank and Jamie at Doc Morgan’s.
Many thanks to the judges of the Best Apple Pie on Bowen Contest: RCMP Chief Constable
Nancy Joyce, BIM Chief Administrative Officer Kathy Lalonde, Metro Vancouver Director of
Regional Parks Mitch Sokalski, and BIM Councillor Andrew Stone. After some dedicated pietasting, they named Burle Kenopa as the 2013 contest winner.
The Bowen Heritage Marathon Pie Makers made 67 pies – and sold them all! For stamina
in pie making, please recognize Allie Drake, Judi Gedye, Sheree Johnson, Carol MacKinnon,
Melanie Mason, Shaun Nagy, Maureen Nicholson, Pernille Nielsen, and Karen Wristen. Special
thanks to Elena Waldman and the Ruddy Kitchen for graciously accommodating the marathon.
For this year’s success, we would like to thank :
John and Josephine Riley for their splendid heritage apple display.
Bowen Agricultural Alliance organizer Elle Glave.
Farmers’ market participants as well as Daphne and Kamile Fargher of Foxglove Ranch, Dave
and Louise McIntosh, Maureen Sawasy and her mum and dad, Michelle and George Taylor, and
Aubin and David van Berckel.
Florrie Levine, Doug Davis, and family for their cider press.
Julie Cree of Artisan Eats and Jules de Groot and Joy Jubenville of Alderwood Farm.
Sarah Haxby and the amazing apple-picking BICS kids.
Marion Moore and the wonderful apple-picking Island Discovery School kids.
Local orchards, especially Collins Farm, Dave McIntosh, Davies Heritage Orchard, and the
Podavins.
Metro Vancouver Parks staff Rod Harding, Kevin Huskisson, Tom McComb, and Adria
Hussain for set-up, recycling, and park interpretation.
Rondy Dike of the Union SteamShip Company for apple-picking privileges.
Julie Cree and Maureen Sawasy for cakewalk cookies and Coral Louie of the Sign Studio for
cakewalk cupcakes.
Tim Hausch and Martin Jasny of Shaw Cable for putting up Our road banner.
PETS
477

PETS

CATS OF ALL DESCRIPTION in
need of caring homes! All cats are
spayed, neutered, vaccinated
and dewormed. Visit us at
fraservalleyhumanesociety.com
or call 1 (604)820-2977

NEED A GOOD HOME for a good
dog or a good dog for a good
home? We adopt dogs! Call 604856-3647 or www.856-dogs.com

Titania Michniewicz for face-painting willing little Applefesters.
David Demner and Rob Forbes of Bees on Bowen.
Rob Cairns for his brilliant outdoor chess set.
Leo Pedersen for technical help with our video “Memories of Bowen Island.”
Site volunteers Denise Lockett, Natasha Robillard, and Kelly Smith.
Museum cottage staffers Jean Cleator, Bill Granger, and Daphne Shaw.
For getting the word out to their readers and members, thanks to Barbara
Wiltshire’s Phorum, Jacqueline Massey and the Bowen Island Arts Council, and
the Bowen Island Undercurrent.
Our sincere apologies to anyone we may have missed in this list of generosity.
Thank you all.

AUTO FINANCING

58

REAL ESTATE
627

ARTISAN EATS is hiring P/T
Dishwasher for short shifts after
school and/or weekend days.
Great job for students!
email info@artisaneats.ca

New associate to Join
Optomeyes - Eyecare
Dr. Bart McRoberts and Dr. Clark
Bowden are pleased to welcome
Dr. Sydney Davidson to their
optometry practice. She is a
graduate of the University of
Waterloo. She brings with her
the latest up-to-date training in
Glaucoma and Macular Degeneration
detection and treatment.

Dr. Sydney Davidson

At Optomeyes Eyecare, we are committed to
outstanding care. We look forward to seeing you
in either the West Vancouver office or the office
in Squamish.